Is this adorable salamander coming soon to a tank near you? Demand for axolotls (AK-suh-lah-tuhls) as pets has soared since they became part of the Minecraft video game and went viral on TikTok.
“In the last year, they’ve become insanely popular,” says Eric Rasmussen. He is the owner of an aquatic pet store in Portland, Oregon.
Unlike most salamanders, which can crawl onto land, axolotls remain underwater their entire lives. They typically grow to be about 9 inches long.
Roughly 1 million axolotls can be found in research labs and home aquariums around the world.
But the amphibians are critically endangered in their native habitat of Mexico. Scientists estimate that only 50 to 1,000 remain in the wild. The creatures are threatened by habitat loss, pollution, and invasive species.
Axolotls are more than just cute faces. They can regenerate damaged limbs, organs, and even parts of their brains. Researchers are studying this salamander superpower in the hope that understanding it could one day help humans.